News & Brews March 10, 2021
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Voters will see GOP primary contest for Supreme Court
In advance of yesterday’s filing deadline, three Republicans and one Democrat filed to run for a single vacancy on the state Supreme Court. On the Republican side, the party endorsed Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson. But fellow Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough as well as Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick are also vying for the GOP nomination in what is shaping up to be a three-way primary. Meanwhile, Democrat Superior Court Judge Maria McLaughlin received her party’s endorsement last month.
‘Independent contracting empowers women; let’s protect it’
Our friend Beth Ann Mumford of Americans for Prosperity has a great piece in RealClearMarkets on the dangerous efforts by some to prevent individuals from pursuing freelance and contract work–a threat that would particularly harm women. Mumford writes, “According to research by the Internal Revenue Service, women are increasingly seeking work as independent contractors. In fact, women are driving much of the overall expansion of this sector, constituting 55 percent of growth.” Having spent four years as a freelance and contract worker–not because anyone forced me to but because I wanted to–I can also attest to the opportunities offered through independent work.
‘Rough’ vaccine rollout has ‘even Democrats turning on Wolf’
This probably isn’t a headline Gov. Wolf ever expected from the Inquirer. The outlet reports, “Wolf, a second-term Democrat, is accustomed to battling Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg over COVID-19 restrictions. But a year after the pandemic upended daily life, the governor is facing growing criticism from fellow Democrats who largely supported his coronavirus response.” At issue is the state’s vaccine rollout, widely recognized as pretty disastrous. According to the latest Wall Street Journal tracker, we’re still near dead last in the share of the population fully vaccinated. No wonder the Inquirer notes that while Wolf isn’t running for re-election next year, “other Democrats are acutely aware that voters will remember how the state managed the biggest public health crisis in a century.”
Lawmakers hear testimony on state’s Right-to-Know law
Many of Pennsylvania’s state agencies haven’t quite lived up to the transparency intent of the Right-to-Know law. Such was the sentiment during yesterday’s House State Government Committee hearing on the topic. The Tribune-Democrat reports some key takeaways from the hearing.
Op-Ed: Student-based funding will renew Pa.’s education system
The Commonwealth Foundation’s Colleen Hroncich has an op-ed explaining why zip-code based education is a relic of the past and highlighting how the proposed Excellence in Education for All Act, spearheaded by Senate President Pro-Tempore Jake Corman, Senate Education Committee Chair Scott Martin, and Senator John DiSanto would put children first by funding students rather than systems.